I’m an incoming high school junior, and for the longest time, I’ve been wanting to apply to an animation school.
Academically speaking, my grades are not terrible, as I have a 99.96 (weighted) gpa, and will be taking 3 APs this year (Chinese 4, English literature, and drawing). So far, I’ve been working on studying for the SAT (my goal is 1450+), and working on a 2-3 minute animation that I plan on finishing by March 2019. Recently, I’ve noticed that many famous directors and producers from Pixar are alumni of Calarts’s character animation program, and I’ve seen quite impressive works of their incoming and graduating students. Except I have one small program: I want to continue studying Chinese, and maybe pick up Korean or Japanese to work with animators internationally (preferably after undergraduate school, though I would be open to shortly studying abroad, or taking a gap year between undergraduate and graduate school).
RISD and Brown, USC, Sheridan/UofT, and Carnegie Mellon all seem like academically suitable schools, but I have not seen fairly compelling, if not any of their students’ animations. I’ve also heard that RISD works on more experimental animation, as opposed to the Calarts style that Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks, Sony, and Nickelodeon are dying to get their hands on. I’ve also seen successful students (like the producer of Magpie) commit to USC, but I don’t know if I would enjoy going to a large university, despite going to a high school with 2000 kids (and 800 in my grade alone). Sheridan and UofT seem like a nice combination, especially with their exposure to abundant Chinese and Korean towns near the campuses, but I’d be an international student; the SAT would be no problem compared to student visa and citizenship complications. And then there’s Carnegie Mellon. I’ve seen a couple things but honestly all I know is that they have a language and animation program, and that my Asian tiger mom would be proud of me if I went there.
I’ve been told not to worry about it from counselors and friends and family, but I can’t help but get stressed out at the possibilities that all come with some kind of catch. Please feel free to offer any thoughts or experiences relating to my dilemma. Thank you so much!
And BTW, I have a kid majoring in illustration at RISD and you are correct about their animation program being much more conceptual, experimental. She’s had several friends switch from that major INTO illustration because they weren’t happy with the approach/what they were learning.
CalArts is also great but they are extremely competitive to get into the Character Animation major. We were told on a tour that they get over 1,000 applications to that major (which has a lot of additional work and requirements than other schools) and only about 70 get accepted.
Definitely look at Cal Arts – it’s the best, but do be aware of the acceptance rate noted by ArtAngst as well as the average age of the incoming freshman class – 21-22. Many of the accepted students have applied numerous times. We were not aware of that, and it was crushing to my daughter after visiting and falling on love with it. My daughter, however, just finished her freshman year at Ringling and loved it. She learned a ton. There are a number of good programs out there. Google best animation programs and you will get a nice list.
Well, you could look at SCAD’s Hong Kong campus. That would allow you to keep working on you Chinese and get the degree you are looking into. My son is at SCAD at the Savannah campus and loves it.
If you are looking for a strong Animation program in a university setting… Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a fantastic option. They provide students with strong studios arts classes and balance it with animation and core. The animation classes offered vary, and currently there are 2D, 3D, and even a new stop-motion class taught by an animator on Robot Chicken. For students that want the pre-production concept side of animation, that is offered too with character design, world building, and many intensive storyboarding classes.
Though the website is not too informational, when you visit the actual program, you realize how much LMU truly offers in their animation program, that is housed in the School of Film and Television.
The program is relatively newer compared to others and is currently ranked #12 on the West Coast (Animation Career Review) and is climbing the rankings every year!
Alumni work at Dreamworks, Disney Animation, nickelodeon, Warner bros, Sony, blizzard, stoopid buddy, bento box, bix pix, and many more.
I recommend checking this program out if you are looking for an intense, but worthwhile Arts/Animation program in a university setting.